A 40-year-old West Allis man who ranted on Craigslist that he would be taking a handgun to Mayfair Mall last weekend told police it was a stupid attempt to get people riled up and generate some online reaction, according to federal charges filed against him Tuesday.
Michael L. Musgrove succeeded. He posted the anonymous threat at 7:15 p.m. Friday, authorities said. Within the hour, other Craigslist users began calling Wauwatosa police. By 10:30 p.m. police and the FBI, working with Craiglist, had removed the post, traced it to Musgrove and arrested him at his home.
Now he's charged with transmitting a threat to injure in interstate commerce, a federal crime punishable by up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
According to the criminal complaint, Musgrove posted a message with the title, "Mayfair Mall gonna make da news dis weekend again (da hood)." The rambling, expletive-laced message appears to be written in some attempt to mimic perceived urban thug vernacular.
It read, in part, "you aint tougher then my 9 which ill be bringin dis sat" and included a photo of a 9mm Glock handgun.
Musgrove, a student at Milwaukee Area Technical College, told police he doesn't own a handgun and had no plans to go to Mayfair Mall last weekend.